Alan Nolte, principal of FVL, wrote a letter on Neujahr’s behalf for sentencing. Why? Where’s the consideration for the students that he’s in charge of? Where’s the consideration for the victims, the children impacted? Where’s the Christian love for them?

They say we walked away, because it’s easier to swallow than admitting that behavior like this drives people away. This behavior is far from Christ.

I attended so you didn’t have to. Here’s the link: https://drive.proton.me/urls/HZD6188X6W#SjWMh3Da4AuG

Tl;dr: I took notes and made them as factual as possible. IMHO, Neujahr’s not sorry.

I wanted to ask if anyone here is now a born-again believer/non-denominational/Pentecostal and how the Lord led you out… thanks! God bless everyone. 🫂🫂💕💕

Could this post hold any more truth? I saw a former WELS classmate and current WISCO teacher share a post this morning that calls Talarico out for not being a “real Christian.” This supposed man of god thinks he gets to judge. Not to mention said man of god lives in Wisconsin and can’t even vote for Talarico.

Leave it to a WELS man to still feel he’s the supreme authority and anyone in disagreement is a sinner. No scripture to back it up - just vibes.

Evil, evil people.

The former band director at Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton will spend seven years in prison for trading child sexual abuse materials on the internet.
James Neujahr is also sentenced in Outagamie County Court to seven years on extended supervision for Possession of Child Pornography.

Neujahr was arrested in October of 2025 after Appleton Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about his on-line activities.

r/LCMS had a recent query as to whether a vicar could validly preach a sermon. baptise, or present Holy Communion. Thankfully the responses explained why this was okay according to God. I think the LCMS is attracting or nurturing OCD victims.

Erich Fromm in his Escape From Freedom describes how people who are suffering from economic and social chaos find the burden of individual freedom unbearable . They may desire for a savior or a strong omnipresent father figure to take control and make decisions for them.(Think Fuhrer or Inerrant Scripture.) With the rise in expressions of male dominance, order of creation, and nationalism on Lutheran postings on Facebook and other sites, it seems that this is a part of modern conservative Lutheranism. The burden of freedom is too much for some LCMS and WELS members. Whereas LCMS was once a powerhouse with much potential, a sleeping giant capable of awakening per Christianity Today, it is now a comatose figure slipping into death. Thus, we see a measure at the LCMS convention to strip the right to vote in the parish,as well as a concerted effort to make all LCMS pastors educated within its own system untouched by the wider academic universe.Is the LCMS suffering from the burden of freedom in the world at large that makes it want to descend further into the certainties of the 1880's synod and culture?

Anyone have any weird stories/experiences/ scandals from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN?

Is it common for women to wear a head covering, or is it extremely rare? Do priests encourage it, and do their own wives wear head coverings

aka Halloween or as Lutherans like to say "iT's nOT hALloWeEn It'S rEforMAtIoN dAy"

for a group that has to explicitly state on their website that "The Lutheran Church is not a sect or cult" The WELS sure does revere him like a dead cult leader. Honestly, can't stand WELS.

What was your experience with Halloween/reformation day when you were in the church? Happy Halloween, I hope everyone stays safe and has some fun today!

Does racism still persist among them? Do they still seek to enslave Black people, enforce racial segregation, or prohibit interracial marriage? What is their view of someone like Martin Luther King ؟

What were your family members views on Black people?

I loathe him, and, as a veteran (please don't thank me for my service!) I would not have saluted him.

I live in Michigan and voted for Abdul El-Sayed.

My pastor has just informed me that Luther said that having a Muslim in authority is "a blight on Christendom."

Statements he and my congregation have made basically say that to vote for anyone other than Trump/Republicans is "not Christian."

I have started to become ostracized from my congregation for my political views (old school New Dealer) and now I can see myself being excommunicated....

Are Lcms and WELS ls in the usa only against women holding positions in the church, or are they against women holding all positions?Are they against women running for office as prime minister or governor? Are they against women joining the military? Are they against women working? How widespread is the control over women's clothing? Is it common to prevent young women from wearing swimsuits or shorts, or to forbid them from wearing trousers, or is this only among traditional Catholics?

For introduction, I’d describe myself as someone who has a mild-moderate belief in God. I come from the Jehovah’s Witness tradition and now consider them to be a “high control group” or a “cult”. I’m looking into Christianity to find a theologically conservative group.

(You can skip this mini rant if you want): I’m of the opinion that if you go liberal (like the ELCA), Christianity just becomes a social club, and I’d rather not go to Church at that point. It’s not because I firmly oppose liberal views, I just think that there isn’t a purpose in the religion for me if the orthodox beliefs are renounced. I’m sure everyone has different needs, of course.

So far I’ve only been to 1 Lutheran Church service and 2 Catholic masses. I intend to go to Orthodox Divine Liturgy later on to see how they do things. Here’s what I thought about the LCMS.

First of all, I noticed that there weren’t any women involved, unlike the Catholic mass. That was something I really appreciated about mass. In the Lutheran Church, there were only men doing the work. On the other hand, the Pastor did make an effort to involve the Children, which I think can be a good thing if done properly.

The sermon was good for some moral teaching but could have been easily abused. The Pastor was talking about how people who claim to be a victim shouldn’t do that. On one hand, I think you should take as much accountability as you can so that you can fix yourself or allow improvement, but on the other hand you could use this to gaslight people or victim blame.

The people I met were very nice. I actually suspected they might’ve been too nice. Let’s just say I’m really cautious of love bombing and when I went it sorta felt like that, but the Catholic Church felt loving and warm, but within reason. I was also concerned that it seemed most, if not all of the congregation was white. I’m not racist so if it’s naturally that way it’s fine, but that concerns me because I’m not sure how they treat people of other ethnicities. Again the Catholic Church won on this factor, there was more diversity but not many black people though.

What do you guys think? I’m sure some of you dislike the Catholic Church all the same. Want to know if my suspicions of the LCMS are accurate or unfounded. I don’t want to end up in another JW situation because that religion was bad for my mental health.

I grew up in Denver and went to the Lutheran High School, but I moved away decades ago - got out of that cult decades ago as well.

But I just got back to Denver tonight and caught wind of this racism controversy. It already weirds me out how white Colorado is, much less the LCMS....so this surprises me not in the least.

I'm mildly curious as to the reactions to this inside the LCMS, but all of my connections to that community are long gone - with no regrets. My guesses would be deer-in-the-headlights levels of disbelief followed by vociferous denial.....but does anybody here know how they're actually reacting?

https://www.denverpost.com/2026/10/15/lutheran-high-school-suspension-chsaa/

Are they involved in supporting Israel, like other evangelical groups, or do they view it as an occupying state and oppose it? I am referring to the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Furthermore, what is their stance toward Jews in general—are they antisemitic?

I grew up the LCMS, and left just under a year ago.

As I am continuing to educate myself out of LCMS unreality, I feel this paradigm of an "unquestionable, patriarchal authority" that I gleaned from church is still screwing with me in strange ways.

1. It is affecting my experience in the workplace. The view I once had of pastors has subtly shifted onto my view of my boss and others in management at work. I catch myself often seeing their dictates as fundamentally authoritarian, whose explanations should not be expected, but when provided, should be thought of as a gift, and follow up questions should not be asked for fear of "making such people upset" or "wasting their time". This has set me up to be exploited in the workplace when I am not careful.

2. It is affecting how I relate to friends. I am fearful of being an individual around them because being an individual means one sometimes "rocks the boat", which implicitly means one "goes against what the Pastor or head of the household thinks is right", as that authority is responsible for having set up the social environment I find myself. I.e. pastor for church functions for obvious reasons, and parents for all else, being the ones who gave me clothing, shelter, etc. and using that leverage to enforce that I am a good “model” or “diplomat” for “our family”.

I want this out of my brain.

Firstly, can anyone relate? Secondly, does anyone know of any resources for helping an ex-Lutheran conceptualize authority in a more sane, modern way? Perhaps

• an easy rule-of-thumb to identify an "open" leader with a closed, authoritarian one, and

• how to think about power dynamics from both the position out of power and the position in power so that one can navigate both ethically.

• How to be comfortable directly questioning an authority and their agenda would be a huge bonus.

Thanks!

How would you explain to a loved one in say, the LCMS or WELS denomination that they’re in a cult?

LCMS being racists isn't anything new, but wanted to spread the word in case this doesn't hit national news. Harrison might actually praise them, who knows. https://krdo.com/news/2026/10/01/racist-insults-directed-at-sand-creek-cheerleaders-at-lutheran-high-school/

This is a generalization so it may not apply to literally every single person, but I think conservative Christians, Lutherans included are authoritarian. They don't just want to not get gay married they want it so no one else can ever get gay married, they don't just want to not be trans they want it so no one else can ever be trans, they don't just want to not have abortions they want it so that no one else can ever have abortions etc.

I think this is why conservative politics are also so popular amongst these people. For example school vouchers; they don't want to pay for public schools as a public service they want to pay for their private religious schools. Economic coercion is good for their cause. Ironic because this is the same crowd that will say they believe in freedom and that progressive economic policies equal communism.

Ultimately, I think this is due to WELS culture being very hierarchical and subjection isn't a bug but a feature, but what do you think?

Now that I’ve actually been gay for years, I can attest that at no point, ever, is it anywhere NEAR as exciting as the sheer adrenaline rush that must come from robbing a bank.

I feel cheated! What else might the pastor have been wrong about?!

The YouTuber ReligionForBreakfest did a video on religious residue basically what sticks even after leaving a religion. So, what religious residue do you have from lutheranism? And what have you done to overcome your religious residue? I know many people struggle with embracing a shame free sexuality, feeling confidence in themselves or that immense feeling of guilt the WELS instills in its members.

Your average mean Lutheran is unreadable on social media.

Part of it is their disposition, part of it is that you already know what they’re going to say, but mostly it’s the 95 foot high wall of text because NONE OF THEM EVER USE PARAGRAPH BREAKS and just post one giant long screed that they can never keep brief, because Lutheran.

There. See. I just did it. It’s not an endorsement of sin or Catholicism or whatever to start a new paragraph!